Links

I need to clear my blog roll.
I'm reluctant to do so. The thought of it makes me a little sad. some of the links no longer exist, and some of them just haven't posted anything new in years. But nevertheless, the thoughts and reflections of these various blog authors meant something to me at some point in time - that's why they were added to the roll.
I guess the reason I'm so reluctant to remove them is that I'm kind of bothered by the ease and willingness with which we disconnect with people and move on in our lives. I see it all around me in our society - as if people are commodities to be traded away when they no longer have a perceived relevance to our current life, or their presence is no longer seen as needful or convenient. I see it in churches too. I'll have been a member of my church for ten years in April. I can't begin to even calculate the people I've seen come and go in that length of time. To be sure there were times when I thought it might behoove me to look elsewhere for a house of worship - but I just kept thinking about what it means to be the manifest reality of family within the body of Christ. Can we really walk away from each other at the point of conflict and say we take that call seriously? Just as love, companionship, sharing and empathy are a part of family, isn't pain, misunderstanding, and disappointment as well? Can we really expect to have one without the other?
I've stuck it out so far, because I've embraced a willingness to take the good with the bad and to pursue the call to be true family within the body of Christ. The lessons I have learned in reconcilliation, and waiting to allow God time to bring His resolution to circumstances has proven invaluable. If I had run or backed away from the situation - I never would have had those experiences or the lessons that go with them.